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Skeleton 101: Glossary

Learn about the key terms for skeleton at the Beijing Olympic Games. (Usa Today Sports)

Cresta: The forerunner to the sport of skeleton, it was organized in the Swiss town of St. Moritz in the 1880s and is believed to be the world’s first sliding sport. The Cresta Run still exists and is owned by the British-run Cresta Club. Skeleton was contested on the Cresta Run at the 1928 and 1948 Winter Games.

IBSF: The international governing body of skeleton and bobsleigh. Stands for “International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.”

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G-Force: Short for gravitational force, it is the force caused by an acceleration equal to the acceleration caused by gravity. In skeleton, the strongest G-forces are generated going around severe turns. Athletes can feel a force of several “Gs” coming around the sharp, banked turns.

Heat: A single run down a skeleton track during a race. A race is generally made up of two or more heats. Olympic races consists of four heats. Also known as a run.

High line: A route that takes the sled close to the top lip of a turn.

Kreisel: German for circle; a curve that forms a circle by having the track cross itself.

Labyrinth: A combination of small curves on a track with little or no straightaway between them; a labyrinth usually consists of three to four curves.

Line: The root a sled takes down the track.

Low Line: A route that takes a sled closer to the lower edge of the track around a turn.

Omega Curve: From above, the curve resembles the Greek letter Omega ().

Runners: The solid pieces of steel on which the sled rides.

Skeleton: A name for the sled used in the sport.

Slider: A skeleton athlete.

Toboggan: A rarely used term for the sled used in skeleton.


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